Kimono

1926–59?

Kimono, 1926–59?. Japan, Shōwa period (1926-89). Hemp (asa); ikat weave; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John C. Weber 2020.428 The threads of this hemp kimono were resist-dyed prior to weaving the garment resulting in the plaid-like pattern. The technique is known as ikat, a word borrowed from Indonesian languages, or kasuri in Japanese. The blurriness of the pattern occurs due to the imperfect lining up of the patterns in the warp and weft threads as the garment is woven. Ikat dyeing techniques were used in what is now Okinawa as early as the 1100s.